Chapter 24 Divorce (Part One)

Jeremy suddenly stopped, his hands still on her hot skin. Sherry squirmed and pushed him away so she could get down from the kitchen counter, feeling breathless and shy. Her clothes were disheveled. She hurriedly straightened them.

Jeremy touched his forehead, feeling dizzy. His head was throbbing.

"Let's do it later," he said. He sounded like he was gasping for breath.

Sherry quickly buttoned her clothes, rolling her eyes. She had no plans of being intimate with him later. Jeremy's recent behavior was very confusing and irritating.

She turned her back on him and began washing the bowls on the counter, just to have an excuse to ignore him. She was in no mood for his weird ideas and inexplicable actions.

After a moment of thought, she said, "I'll sleep here tonight."

"Sure, I'll stay too and sleep here with you," he said agreeably.

Sherry frowned. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she said coldly, "Mr. Ou, I'm afraid that my small apartment is too humble to accommodate you. I'd prefer it if you would leave."

She thought that if Jeremy stayed overnight, it was inevitable that they would end up arguing again.

These days, it seemed like she quarreled with him all the time. They had endless ways of irritating each other.

Jeremy was quite hot-tempered, and she did not like to see him angry.

Jeremy studied Sherry. He was sure that just now, she had enjoyed being close to him. But in an instant she had changed into this aloof and arrogant woman. He sighed to himself. Women were so changeable.

"Why can't I stay? Is it because your boy toy is staying here?" he retorted, his tone full of contempt.

Sherry's eyes widened, and she let out a soft gasp. Until now she had completely forgotten that Jeffery was in the apartment. She pulled off her apron and rushed to the living room.

It was empty. Jeffery was no longer seated on the sofa, and the glass of water on the table had not been touched. It was so quiet she could hear the clock ticking on the wall.

Sherry flushed, feeling a surge of annoyance as she realized that Jeremy had distracted her on purpose so that Jeffery would leave. He had purposely teased her and carried her to the counter so that Jeffery could see everything from the living room! She turned even redder as she remembered how loud she had been. Jeffery had heard everything too!

She couldn't imagine how she would face Jeffery in the future. It was all very embarrassing.

She scowled, and anger appeared in her eyes as she thought that Jeremy had manipulated her again.

Jeremy had followed her to the living room. He leaned against the door with his hands in his pockets, looking pleased with himself. Sherry tried not to look at his strong arms revealed in his shirt with its rolled-up sleeves. Jeremy said casually, "So the boy is gone? Good, he has some sense in him."

"Will you stop? You humiliated him! Surely he'd leave," Sherry said coldly.

He smiled broadly, enjoying her irritation. But then his glance fell on the TV stand, where a bouquet of flowers had been placed.

The flowers were a soft, delicate pink, and each one had five petals, darkening to red in the center. The elegant flowers were fresh and newly bought, and displayed beautifully in a vase. He moved closer and smelled the faint fragrance.

He didn't know much about flowers, but he could guess that these symbolized love!

Instantly, the smile dropped off his face, and his expression turned black. The flowers were obviously from Jeffrey, and he felt as though she had displayed them in

such a prominent place on purpose, so that he would notice them.

"So now he's sending you flowers," he said coolly. "Where does he learn all these?"

Sherry had gone to the table to pack the bag, and when she heard what Jeremy said, she looked up. "What nonsense are you talking about now?"

"Jeffrey has probably worked in that bar long enough to see how people hook up girls," Jeremy said.

Sherry followed his glance and saw the flowers on the TV stand. She sighed as she realized what he was talking about.

The truth was that the flowers hadn't come from Jeffrey. He was just a university student, and he didn't have much extra cash to spend.

She thought to herself glumly that Jeremy was the one who had money to spend on things like flowers, but he would never think of surprising her like that.

"Mr. Ou, I really have no idea what you're so angry about. Anyway, since you're here, you clearly don't have any other appointments for tonight. I think it's time we sit down and talk about our divorce," Sherry said calmly. She finished putting everything away and sat down on the sofa.

Jeremy's face suddenly froze. For a few seconds he was silent, then he stood up, walked to the sofa, and sat beside her.

"Divorce? I already told you. I don't want one." The sofa sank down beneath his weight. She listened to him with a kind of dread. His tone was light, but it contained a note of determination that she was familiar with. She knew that it would be almost impossible to change his mind.

Sherry frowned as she looked at his implacable face. She was getting more and more confused. He was so changeable and unpredictable!

"Haven't you always wanted to divorce me? Now I'm giving you what you want! You're free! From now on, you won't have to put up with me asking where you've been and what you've been doing. You can go out with as many women as you want,"

she said. The eagerness in her voice made Jeremy raise his eyebrows. He said, "Sherry, you don't have to keep trying to get my attention in this way."

"Trying to get your attention? You're overthinking this. It's very simple, we both want a divorce, so we're getting one. I won't change my mind," she answered. On one hand, Sherry was angry at him, but on the other hand, she couldn't help finding some humor in the whole situation.

Jeremy leaned forward. His face was very close to hers. He smelled the detergent on her hands and asked, "Why? What made you change your mind about getting divorced?"

Before she met Jeffrey, she had been a firm believer in marriage, and wanted to do everything to stay true to her wedding vows. So he suspected that this change was because of him.

Sherry felt a sudden, unexpected burst of rage. How dare he ask that question? Her heart was already broken. She was so tired of loving him. If he wanted to know why she wanted a divorce, all he had to do was think of how he'd treated her.

He had dared to joke with her in front of Jessie. He'd called Jessie his "honey"! He'd planned to give Sherry to his good friend as a gift. Wasn't that enough to make any woman change her mind?

Sherry had finally accepted that she was dispensable to him, and that his friend was someone he valued more than her. So it was true that rich men exchanged their wives casually. Wives were no more than property to them.

She said, slowly and clearly, "I don't love you anymore, Jeremy. I want a divorce!" She didn't want to account these past things. Perhaps a reason that she didn't love him anymore was more useful than any other reasons.